Child of Darkness
by purplepeopleeater122000
Summary: A mysterious child is borne. Years later, Hermione Granger adopts a powerful child from an orphanage for magical children and raises the child as her own. But what will happen when the child has visions of his real father?
1. Chapter 1

"Child of Darkness"

_**A/N: Okay I'll try to make this short! So this is a collaboration project by me and John Thatcher. Check him out. He is freaking awesome. This chapter is written by me and I really hope you enjoy it! Please let us know how we are doing. Messages, comments. Any kind of reviews are welcome! Thanks guys! :)**_

_**Disclaimer: If you know it, we don't own it.**_

Chapter 1:

It was a dark night for Voldemort's Death Eaters, the night he fell. Narissa Malfoy stood in front of a once elegant, but now mangled crib, trying to comfort the tiny child who was screaming shrilly. Lucius Malfoy roughly tried to pull her away from the ruins. "Get away from that devil child!" he growled, hate glaring in his eyes.

"That devil child is my nephew!" she screamed, tears brimming on her eyes. Bellatrix, who though unfortunately was her sister, was still her family, and this being her child still deserved to be treated as such. Lucius had other plans however, and quickly grabbed his wife and son's arms and apparated them to somewhere far, far away from the manor of which terrible events had happened. He had hoped the baby would die after being abandoned in the ruins. In fact, he didn't give a second thought, thinking the child had no other choice but to pass, with no one to take care of him. Little did he know, that the child would be fighting the dark within himself for many years to come.

* * *

_8 Years Later..._

**Hermione's POV:**

"I want to adopt a child," I firmly told Harry.

The war ended eight years ago and my life had practically put on hold since then. Ronald and I had tried to settle down, tried to start a family; and when he couldn't get what he wanted from me, he went elsewhere. In fact, he got no other than Lavender Brown pregnant. The night he told me had been the last straw and I had packed my things and left straightaway.

Here I am now, living in my own small flat, by myself, enjoying the quiet time and being able to focus on work. And somewhere in the back of my mind, I had decided I wanted a child. Not being in a relationship or married, it didn't seem very possible. But I had been sitting at my desk, staring at the paperwork I was supposed to be filling out, when it dawned on me. Adopting a child was really my only option unless I wanted to have a sperm donor, which to me wasn't really an option.

So here I was, looking at Harry with determined eyes, as he stared at me like I was a loon. "I'm serious!" I insisted. "I'm not with anyone, which takes out my option of having one with someone. The only logical option is to adopt!" I practically plead.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes, clearly exhausted. I know he had been working a lot lately and was tired as hell and there was nothing I could do, but I could slowly see him starting to cave in. He sighed once more and looked me straight in the eyes. "Okay," he finally caved. "I'll put in a good word for you over in the adoption office. I don't think you'll need it being a war hero, but I'll do it anyways." He gave me a smile. "I know you will be an amazing mother Hermione," he congratulated me, patting me on the back.

I sighed in relief, thankful he had gave in. "Thank you Harry!" I exclaimed. "You won't regret it, I promise!" I swore. He turned and began walking out of my office. "And Harry," I began. He turned to look back at me. "I want you and Ginny to be the god parents to my child," I smiled.

He gave me a grin that reminded me of the happy Harry I saw once upon a time at Hogwarts and a twinkle in his eye that would have put the stars in the sky to shame. "You won't regret it," he promised, before flashing a wonderful smile at me again before walking out of my office and going back to work.

I turned back to the stack of papers on my desk and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Harry had finally come through! I was standing at the wizarding orphanage, waiting in an office to be helped. Today was finally the day. I had spent the last week setting up the guest bedroom in my flat to be child ready. I couldn't do too much, but I did clean out all the extra papers and random books I had laying everywhere.

I was off in my own world of thinking, as per usual, when a young woman, just a little older than me, walks into the office and slams the door, snapping me out of my daze. I had all sorts of thoughts going through my head. Was I going to find a little girl or a little boy? Were they going to be younger or a teen? Am I about to have a problem child or a shy child? I couldn't answer any of these questions and it was making me nervous just at the thought.

"Miss Granger," the woman smiled at me sweetly. "Are you ready to meet your child?" she asked in a voice that was almost monotone.

I nodded; I have never been so nervous in my life. Today was the day that the rest of my life would change, whether for better or worse I wouldn't know. I followed the woman, Mrs. Bentley I was informed her name was, into a large room. There were children everywhere! Girls, boys, some were flying on toy brooms, some were playing wizard's chess, I saw a couple of little girls playing with an enchanted doll house and it made me smile. I stood at the front of the room, just looking around the room, before I saw him. It was a little boy, around 8 years old, who was sitting in the corner of the room, reading _Hogwarts, A History._

And that was the moment that I knew it was him. That was my favorite book. If that wasn't a sign from the unknown forces of the world, then I seriously don't know what is. I slowly walked over to the boy, hoping to not scare him. I draw closer to him and crouch down next to him. He suddenly looked up from his book, looking slightly startled. He looked from side to side before cocking his head and saying, "Ma'am you look a little lost."

It was my turn to cock my head to the side, for I was very confused. Why would he say that? "What makes you say that sweetie?" I asked, trying to hide my confusion.

"No one has interest in a kid like me," he begins, before I cut him off.

"You remind me of myself," I firmly tell him. "That book," I say, taking the book out of his hands and rolling it in my hands, "is my favorite book." I paused for a moment before looking at him curiously and cautiously asking, "What is your name?"

He grabbed the book out of my hand and buried his face in it again before hesitantly replying, "Almadeus," is a short but quiet tone. I nodded silently and walked over the woman who had led me here to begin with.

"He's the one," I said with a grin, pointing to Almadeus' location. I glanced over at him, still reading my favorite childhood book.

The woman gave me a look of confusion. "Are you sure?" she asked nervously. "Almadeus doesn't get along well with the other children. He's very quiet and..." before I silently cut her off.

"He's perfect," I said firmly.

She gulped and hesitantly replied, "Well if you insist."

I smiled. Today was the day that would change my life. Just maybe not in the way I would have hoped.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, my name is John Thatcher, and for this story, me and puplepeopleeater will be alternating chapters. The chapters will also alternate POVs such as between Hermione, Almadeus, and other characters. As always, messages, comments, and reviews are welcome, please let us know how we are doing. :D**

**Disclaimer: If you know it, we don't own it.**

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Chapter 2:

**Almadeus' POV:**

I was in the corner of the orphanage playroom that I claimed for myself reading my favorite story, _Hogwarts, A History_. I had three years until I was able to go there myself and get out of this horrible orphanage. The thought of finally going off to learn magic always made me excited, until I reminded myself that I still had to wait three years. I mean, that was waiting almost another half of my life, being only age eight, but that didn't matter much though, as I was very patient for my age. My maturity for that was beyond my years, although that seemed like a good thing, this made me seem very weird to the other children.

When I was younger, I had wanted to be friends with the other children, but the always drove me away. They called me names and always made fun of me, coming up with weird ways to make fun of me, as even they didn't know what was wrong with me. This had made me angry. _They are just dumb , they aren't smart enough to play with me,_ I always told myself. This would make me feel less alone in my mind, but I would still have that feeling of isolation.

As I was reading, I heard the door open and close. I peeked up from my book to see a pretty young woman with curly brown hair walk through the room with Ms. Lake. Uninterested, I returned to my book. I had forgotten that today was Friday, which was the day when parents and other adults would come to see the children. It went the same every day: the babies were always the first to go, as they were the cutest, and then the parents would slowly work their way up the age groups. That left me in the second to last group to go.

The thing was that I had been in this place since I myself was a baby, which meant that none of the parents had wanted me even when I was at my cutest. Once I realized what this place was for, I would get excited for Fridays. Every Friday I would try to look and act my best, but something would always drive the parents away from me. They would look at me and then quickly pass over me, or even completely avoid me. Every Friday I would end up running to my room, crying in my pillow.

As the years went on, I began to realize that nobody wanted me. I would just shut myself from everything, sometimes hiding so I wouldn't have to see the happiness of the other children as they went to loving homes, while I was still stuck here. I suddenly heard footsteps coming toward me._ Great, another parent coming to look me over, just to give that same look and walk away, _I thought bitterly. So I glued my eyes to the book in front of me harder, not really reading anything.

The footsteps stopped to my side, and I saw the pretty lady in the corner of my eye; she was crouching next to me. I jumped a little despite myself, cursing myself for my fear.

"Ma'am", I said, trying to be polite "You look a little lost."

The look on her face suggested that she was very confused at what I said.

"What makes you say that sweetie?", she asked with a smile.

This was the most that any parent had said to me. I could tell that she was still confused, but she was trying to hide it from me. I immediately thought back to all the parents that had passed over me and ignored me.

"No one had interest in a kid like me-", I began to say, but she interrupted me.

"You remind me of myself", she told me in a firm voice. "That book", she said as she took the book out of my hands, "is my favorite book. She paused for a moment, taking a look at the book in her hands.

"What is your name?", she asked.

I grabbed the book back from her hands, and went back to gluing my eyes to it. I was becoming excited as this was definitely the most that any parent had wanted to know about me; it was sad really. This was despite knowing that she would probably just walk away in moments.

"Almadeus", I responded quietly, curtly.

She didn't saying anything more for a few seconds, and then slowly rose to standing, crushing my excitement. _There it is,_ I said to myself as she walked away._ Yet another parent deciding that they are too good for me._

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**_A/N: Let us know how we are doing! We would love to hear from you guys! _**


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: I am so sorry this took so long. I was having technical issues with my computer. IE: My little cousin spilled lemonade on it and some of my keyboard wasn't working. Things should move much quicker now! Hope you enjoy! This was written by the poster btw. :) John Thatcher will be posting next chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: If you know it, we sure as heck don't own it. :)**_

* * *

Chapter 3:

**Hermione's POV**

Almadeus looked shocked seeing all his belongings in my hands as I walked back into the large room to collect him. He gathered his book in his arms and gave me a reluctant look before asking, "Are you sure?" He sounded like Ms. Lake, the woman who had taken care of me at the orphanage.

I smiled warmly. "Of course I'm sure," I assured him, patting his head as he got closer. "Ready?" I turned to him and asked. Without looking up from his feet, he nodded the okay. We started walking to the entrance of the orphanage. "Would you mind me Apparating us to my flat?" I ask anxiously. I really hate side Apparation, but it was the quickest way to get to my flat and I didn't want to waste time getting Almadeus settled in. Plus I didn't want him to feel obligated to awkward small talk.

He looked up at me and shook his head no, stating, "It's no bother at all Miss Granger," very stiffly.

I smiled down at him. "You can call me Hermione. You'll be living with me and Miss Granger is my mother!" I reply laughing. In a flash, we were at the front door of my flat. "Here we are!" I said brightly, trying to lighten the mood. Swinging the door open, I started showing him around. "Here is the living room," I said, pointing and slowly walking. I turned to make sure he was still following me. The poor darling looked slightly intimidated. I smiled behind me to assure him it was okay, and reached for his hand. He looked at me as though I had three heads, but reluctantly took my hand.

I lead him down the hallway, pointing out where my room and the bathroom were, before reaching his room. I hadn't painted the walls anything extravagant, just a soft yellow. The only things in the room were a small twin-size bed with a red comforter made up on it and a dresser on the opposite wall, along with a small desk next to the door. "You can decorate it however you please," I smiled at him. "I hope this is big enough."

His eyes were as big as saucers. "Thank you very much Miss- I mean Hermione," he said quietly. "This is perfect."

* * *

The next 3 years passed in the blink of an eye.

At nine, I had taken Almadeus to the Grand Canyon in the United States. He found it interesting and fascinating, as any normal child would have. We were still bonding at this point, and he was finally opening up to me. On our last day in Arizona, he called me Mum for the first time, and I about teared up, I was so happy.

For his tenth birthday, I bought him his first Quidditch broomstick. I had never seen such joy on a child's face before this. Harry bought him a starter Quidditch kit in the same year, about a month after his birthday and the two of them began bonding over the sport. At least four days a week, after Almadeus gets done with his studies, he runs off with Harry to the Quidditch fields and I didn't see the both of them until it was dinner time. Almadeus was the child Harry hasn't had yet. Ginny and I had lots of bonding time as well though.

For his eleventh birthday, I took him to London, to Diagon Alley for the first time. I got him an snowy white owl, similar to Hedwig, as his official gift. We visited Honeydukes and walked out with a giant sack of sweets. Then the Quidditch equipment store to buy a uniform for when he played with his Uncle Harry, as he was now referred to. We also gathered his school supplies while in the area. By the end of the day, he didn't want to leave the wonder of the wizard world and the only thing that lured him into going home were promises of homemade pizza and butterbeer.

And just like that, September first came. I didn't even see it coming and I had, in no way, prepared myself to ship my child that I had grown so very attached to, off to a boarding school for nine months out of the year. I knew it was a necessary measure to take, but I was going to miss him terribly.

He insisted on packing his things alone, which upset me a little, but I gave him the space he needed and went into the kitchen and made sweets for the train ride to Hogwarts. Realizing I had made enough sweets to feed the whole train, I forced myself to stop and go check on Almadeus. He was sitting on his bed, looking at all of his belongings, and petting his owl, which he had settled on naming Archimedes. I made my way over to his bed, and put my arm around his shoulder. "You're going to have fun," I assure him with a smile. "Hogwarts is full of adventures."

He peered up at me. "Will you still want me when summer comes around?" He asked very honestly. I hadn't thought this through as thoroughly as I had thought. I should have had this talk with him months ago, but it must have slipped my mind with everything going on.

"Honey," I began, gathering him in my arms. "Just because you are going to school, doesn't mean I won't stop caring about you. I'm going to write to you at least once a week, if not more. I want you home for Christmas and Ill come and visit you whenever I get the chance! But no matter what happens, I will always love you." Tears were forming in the corners of my eyes, so wiping them off with my sleeve, I gathered him in another hug and kissed his forehead lightly. I picked up his things and asked him, "Are you ready?" with a smile. He nodded the okay and we began our journey to King's Cross Station.

We drove, because I really hate side-apparation and that was really the only other choice. So I loaded all Almadeus' things in my SUV's trunk and we headed to bring my son to his destiny at an amazing school who made me the person I am today. The drive was quiet and slightly awkward at the beginning. I ended up turning the radio on, not being able to bare the silence.

After a half hour of silence, it was finally broken with a simple question. "Mum what house were you in?"

It was one I had anticipated and expected, to be quite honest. "Gryffindor," I informed.

"What if I'm a Slytherin?" The real question I had been expecting.

"I'll still love you." I replied.

The rest of the trip was just as silent as the beginning had been. Getting to King's Cross was actually a slight relief. Waving good bye at the train, I felt tears leak from my eyes again, but I knew he would be okay. He was an amazing child.

**Please review :) Thanks guys for being so patient!**


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